Scrubbing machine



April l, 1934 H. o. BoUTwELL 1,752,882

SCRUBBING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 29, 1927 April 1, 1930. H.o. BoUTwELL SGRUBBING MACHINE Filed June 29. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2HTTORN EY Patented Apr. 1, 1930 PATENT OFFICE mail o. Bon'rwnnr., or LosANGELES, CALIFORNIA scnUBBiNG MAcnrNE Application led June 29,

My invention is a scrubbing machine having a water tank, scrubbingbrushes and a pump for withdrawing the water from the floor to the usedwater tank.

An object of my invention is the construction of a scrubbing machine inwhich the machine carries a tank of fresh water for scrubbing. The wateris discharged and the floor is scrubbed by scrubbing brushes. The dirtywater is then sucked up from the floor by a pump type of device anddischarged into a used water tank.

Another object of my invention is in a scrubbing machine of thecharacterabove described having double walls at the front and back of themachine, through which the dirty water may be sucked by a suction pumpand deposited in the used or dirty water tank.

Another object of my invention is to operate the scrubbing machine by anelectric motor contained in the machine, the machine being mounted onthe supporting wheels and also having the pump operated -by the motor.

Another object of my invention is having the scrubbing brushes rotatingon a horizontal axis, and also a plurality of vertical brushespositioned adjacentl the corners of the scrubbing machine to scrub intocorners.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my machine partly broken away.

Fig. 2 is a compound vertical longitudinal 35 section, the planes ofsection being takenon the lines 2-2 of Figure 1 in the direction of thearrows.

Fig. 3 is a side .elevation of my machine taken in the direction of thearrow 3 of Figure 1.

Fig-4 is an opposite side elevation taken in the direction of the arrow4 of Figure 1. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section on the line 5--5of Figure 2 in the direction of the arrows.

The carriage of my scrubber comprises a suitable fixed frame preferably,in the form of a casting 11 and a pair of forward wheels 12 are mountedsupported from said casting, and a rear adjustable wheel 13 is also se-1927. Serial No. 202,235.

cured to the castin The rear part 14 of the casting preferab y houses anelectric motor, and in the forward part 15 there is a suction pumpoperated from the motor. This pump may be of any suitable character, and55 as it does not f orm an immediate part of my invention, is notillustrated or describedin detail.

The scrubbing chamber is designated generally by the numeral 16 andcomprises a front wall 17, a rear wall 18 and opposite side walls 19. Amain scrubbing brush 20 is mounted on a transverse shaft 21 which ismounted in journals22 on the' side walls, and this shaft has a` largegear 23 preferably at each end. Each large gear meshes with a drivinggear 24 mounted on a drive shaft 25 mounted in journals 26 on the sidewalls. This shaft has a worm wheel 27 driven. by a worm 28 on alongitudinal shaft 29 which is mounted in journals 30 on the front andback walls. This shaft extends through the back wall and is connected inany suitable manner tothe electric motor, and driven either by thegearing or directly lfrom such motor. l

A Apair of vertical brushes 31 are each mounted on a vertical shaft 32supported in suitable journals 33 preferably connected to the sidewalls, and at the'upper end of each vertical shaft there isa beveledgear 34 which mesheswith a beveled gear 35 on a transverse shaft 36,driven by a wormwheel 37 meshing with a worm 38 on the longitudinalshaft 29; In this manner the horizontal and vertical scrubbing brushesare' simultaneously rotated. The horizontal brush does the mainscrubbing operation and the vertical brushes operate principally inscrubbing the corners of a room or lthe places inaccessible to thehorizontal brush.

The water system is substantially as follows: A clear water storage tank39 is mounted on a .suitable base 40 which'is positioned on top of thescrubbing chamber. The tank 95 or reservoir illustrated is rectangularand has a removable top 41. The water is fed out of the discharge pipe42 on the rear side of the storage tank, passes through a control valve43 through an elbow connection 44 to 100 a forwardly extending feed pipe45, and from thence is led into a distribution pipe 46 having a seriesof spray outlets 47.y This latter pipe is supported on brackets 48 andpositioned in the scrubbing chamber above the main scrubbing brush 20.

The suction system for the water comprises a forward suction chamber 49which is formedfby the-front wall 17 and a front false wall 50 spacedapart, there being a rubber squeegee 51 secured to the lower edge of thefront wall. A rear suction chamber 52 is formed by the rear wall 18 andthe rear false wall 53. There is also a squeegee 54 at the base of therear wall. This rear wall has a suitable opening 55 leading into thepump chamber. The front and the back suction chambers 49 and 52 areconnectedby one or more longitudinal pipes 56.

The water after being taken through the pump is discharged through adischarge pipe 57, this -being bent'to form an elbow, and by means of areduced coupling 58 this is connected to a rubber hose 59, the hosebeing attached to a hose coupling 60 on the top of a used or dirty watertank 61. The top of this tank is attached by a clamp 62. This latter Ydraws the water as tank is preferably rectangular and is mounted on abracket 63 extending rearwardly from the rear wall 18. -Both of thetanks are removable to allow cleansing, and in order to operate themachine, a handle 64 is connected front, back and side walls, the frontWall having a suction chamber open at the bottom,

a plurality of scrubbing brushes mounted on Vertical axes adjacent thefront wall and at the corners of the scrubbing chamber, means to supplywater to the brushes, and a -pump gperatively connected to thesuction'cham- In testimony whereof I have signed my name to thisspecification.

.HARRY O. BOUTWELL.

to the frame work and forms the means for connecting the electric wiresto the motor.

From the above description it will be seen that water is sprayeddownwardly from the pipe 46 on to the large brush, and this water wouldpreferably be charged with a cleansing compound such as soap or othersuitable material. The scrubbing action of the horizontal and thevertical brushes thoroughly cleanses the fioor, the vertical brushesworking into the corners, and on account of the squeegees 51 and 54 onthe front and back walls, the

rubber strips 65 on the side walls, the water is prevented from beingforced under the walls of the scrubbing chamber. The pump well as aconsiderable amount of the air upwardly through the suction chambers 49and-52. AThis action of the pump sucks'air underneath the Walls of thescrubbing chamber and functions in this manner to prevent the water fromescaping. The mixture of water and air lifted by the pump is dischargedinto the dirty water tank above mentioned, and the air escapes throughvents in the cover of this tank.

It will thus be seen that I have developed a machine which carries itsown water supply, and not only scrubs the floor, but removes the surpluswater from the fioor, and thus practically dries the ioor as much as isnecessary.

Various changes may-be made in the principles of my invention withoutdeparting Aeo

